The Death Penalty

We are going to work on the controversial issue of the Death penalty or Capital Punishment. In no way my intention is to gag your ideas thus you will be given photocopies and shown videos either in favour or against. However, I cannot deny I am against this brutal act, a physical and psychological form of torture that has not worked as a deterrent against heinous crimes and that infringes human rights and brutalizes the core of humanity, that is respecting the dignity of a human being. What you will be asked to do is to make a video (either a commercial against Death Penalty, or a video debating the reasons for or the reasons against Capital Punishment) individually or in pairs or in groups. Then I would like you to come up with a piece of creative writing which somehow recaps our “path of investigation”. You may write an acrostic poem, or a poem of your own choice (shape poem, for example, that is a poem written in the shape of an electric chair, or a shouting face, or a tear, or a hanging rope symbolizing the gallows), or the entry of the diary of a person on death row (s/he has just been announced that tomorrow it’s the FINAL day), or the letter of a victim written to the newspaper taking a stand against capital punishment.

Which of the following images do you find the most striking to represent the Death Penalty? Why? What would you draw if you were asked to depict Capital Punishment?

I would love to start with some quotations. Which one do you like most? (why?)

“Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders.” -Albert Camus, French philosopher

“To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.” -Desmond Tutu

“What says the law? You will not kill. How does it say it? By killing!” -Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables

“It can be argued that rapists deserve to be raped, that mutilators deserve to be mutilated. Most societies, however, refrain from responding in this way because the punishment is not only degrading to those on whom it is imposed, but it is also degrading to the society that engages in the same behavior as the criminals.” -Stephen Bright, human rights attorney

In literature we read a passage from InCold Blood by Truman Capote, next year we will analyze the wonderful ballad by O. Wilde “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” which throws into the reader’s face the hypocrisy of our society and questions the way human beings punish a crime. Killing a man with a sword is it worse than killing a man with words, with indifference, with negation?

Now watch the following videos. The first one is in favour of the Death Penalty. See the way it is “constructed”, it will help you with your own “creation”. What technique does the student use to make her point?

The one that follows, instead, is a video that harshly opposes Capital Punishment. How does the actor lead us into his train of thoughts? How does he make is point pass through? What is the true meaning of Capital Punishment? (a sort of play on words)

Here are some poems I selected. Read the first one. What makes you understand that the writer is truly against the Death Penalty?

A Poem About The Death Penalty

When a man performs a murderous act

Stealing the life of a man well-known

We wish to condemn him the same favor,

And break his neck bone.

Then we think it’s justified

That he had to die,

That the hearts ripped by the death of his victim,

Will somehow be satisfied.

That all that same loathing,

And all that same bitterness

Will make it all tranquil,

In spite of all carelessness

But I, I think this ridiculous,

I think that no man should die,

No matter his sins,

No matter the yearn to justify.

The next poem openly attacks…. Whom? Why? Who is the “speaking I”? Are there any points that make you understand that the poems are somehow autobiographical?

[Michael Perry: I’ve written all these poems while sitting on death row. Since I spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, poetry is one of the only ways I can express how I feel. I hope you like them. Sincerely, Michael Perry #999444]

A Few Lines

The state wants to prove crime doesn’t pay.

They won’t let injustice stand in their way.

The have to convict someone of the crime.

They really care not if it’s your life or mine.

They do not worry if there is no evidence.

They just ask the “judge” for the trial to commence.

They cannot afford to take any chances.

And around the court, the “D.A.” prances.

The trial is not fair, everything is rigged.

The whole “justice” system, truly is jigged.

The judge reads the verdict, in just one breath.

I am found guilty and sentenced to death.

The State of Texas is being frill.

They’ve found out they have the “right” to kill.

I now sit and wait, here on death row.

I know late some night, my life could go.

I don’t want the needle stuck in my arm.

I could never ever cause anyone harm.

Throughout the courts I put up a fight.

Cause I want to avoid that dreadful night.

Regardless of innocence,

I’m to be killed with vengeance.

So before I go

Down this dreadful road

I leave with you these few lines

For now, I have run out of time.

How does the writer of the following poem develops his argument against the death penalty?

The Death Penalty Is Murder

You go to your house of worship to your God to pray

But that your Government execute people with you is okay

When you tell me that all bad people deserve to die

Are you trying to say Moses Fifth Commandment is a lie?

You tell me you live in a democracy

But it does not seem too democratic to me

All murder is wrong that you do not deny

But in the laws of your Government a life for a life does apply

And since with so called lawful executions you wholeheartedly agree

You are guilty like many of hypocrisy,

The blessings of a God I do not ask to receive

But the death penalty is murder that’s what I believe

And those who believe every murderer should be made to die

Without saying so are saying Moses Fifth Commandment is a lie.

Francis Duggan

Reflect upon the following questions:

Does a person’s race affect the likelihood of him/her receiving the deathpenalty?

Does a person’s income level affect the likelihood of him/her receiving the death penalty?

Should a death penalty moratorium be implemented?

Should victims’ opinions matter when condiering the death penalty?

Should the death penalty be allowed?

1,188 people were executed in the US from 1977 through 2009, primarily by means of lethal injection. Most death penalty cases involve the execution of murderers although capital punishment can also be applied for treason, espionage, and other crimes.

Proponents of the death penalty say it is an important tool for preserving law and order, deters crime, and costs less than life imprisonment. They argue that retribution or “an eye for an eye” honors the victim, helps console grieving families, and ensures that the perpetrators of heinous crimes never have an opportunity to cause future tragedy.

Opponents of capital punishment say it has no deterrent effect on crime, wrongly gives governments the power to take human life, and perpetuates social injustices by disproportionately targeting people of color (racist) and people who cannot afford good attorneys (classist). They say lifetime jail sentences are a more severe and less expensive punishment than death.

Should the death penalty be allowed? I found this interesting webpage which we will be using for our debate in class. You will be divided in two groups, regardless of your personal beliefs, and you will be asked to fight PRO or AGAINST capital punishment. Look at the website. On the left-hand margin you find a menu. Please read “Top 10 pros and cons”. These are the ones you will be using in class. You will know whether you are in the PRO or AGAINST group the very day we perform the public debate. As you can see there are other tags that can be of interests to you, such us “did you know” or “should the death penalty be allowed” or “glossary”, etc. Browse the website at your own wish, but the “top 10 pros and cons” is mandatory for the class activity we are going to have. You can listen to the whole pages, there is the symbol of a loudspeaker. Mind you, however, that the voice does not follow the natural rhythm of a mother tongue speaker, so resort to it when you have doubts as to the pronunciation of some words. You just need to click on the word and then on the loudspeaker.

First they came…” is a famous statement attributed to pastorMartin Niemöller(1892–1984) about the inactivity of Germanintellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.

Who is this poem addressed to? What does it fight? It would be nice if you could add a stanza of your own, a stanza that is contextualized in your own space and time. Have a go. This is mine: “When they came for women, I did not speak out; I was a man and my rights were safeguarded” (to me this is strongly linked to today’s news: the rate of women being killed by their male partners is not decreasing in our country).

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn’t a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

If you were asked to draw an image or write a slogan against the death penalty to be turned into badges to wear on your clothes or to pin on your rucksack/pencil case, what would it be like? Think of a slogan and of an image. Do you find the following ones effective? Why (not)?

Artists and intellectuals fought and fight against the death penalty. You listened to Jeremy Irons’ speech and you saw that some writers opposed it. What about singers? Do you know any song against capital punishment?

These are the ones I found with an anti-death penalty message, however, I am sure you can do better than me 😉

Billy Moore got desperate for money and planned a robbery. He got the money, but killed a man and was sentenced to die. Thirteen execution dates later, his future changed dramatically. The video (click here: the video is divided into two parts, the second part will appear on the right-hand margin of Youtube) is broadcast by a Christian Channel and since I DO want to RESPECT believers and non-believers, I am not going to post the videos, but you can click above if you want to watch them. The videos are a personal account of Billy Moore experience, which shows how we could all fall into the trap of committing an irrevocable mistake if we were driven by desperation. The first-account witness reveals that poverty makes a difference and that black people in the USA are more likely to end up in the death row than white people. The video also shows the power of forgiveness (the victim’s family fights for Billy Moore’s lift of the death penalty).

Inside the Texas Death Row

Now read the lyrics of Johnny Cash’s song “25 minutes to go”, what do you expect its tune to be like? What does the song reveal? What criticism is raised towards the individual embodying justice (the mayor, the police officer)?

And the whole town’s waitin’ just to hear me yell I’ve got 24 minutes to go

Well they gave me some beans for my last meal I’ve got 23 minutes to go

But nobody asked me how I feel I’ve got 22 minutes to go

Well I sent for the governor and the whole dern bunch with 21 minutes to go

And I sent for the mayor but he’s out to lunch I’ve got 20 more minutes to go

Then the sheriff said boy I gonna watch you die got 19 minutes to go

So I laughed in his face and I spit in his eye got 18 minutes to go

Now hear comes the preacher for to save my soul with 13 minutes to go

And he’s talking bout’ burnin’ but I’m so cold I’ve 12 more minutes to go

Now they’re testin’ the trap and it chills my spine 11 more minutes to go

And the trap and the rope aw they work just fine got 10 more minutes to go

Well I’m waitin’ on the pardon that’ll set me free with 9 more minutes to go

But this is for real so forget about me got 8 more minutes to go

With my feet on the trap and my head on the noose got 5 more minutes to go

Won’t somebody come and cut me loose with 4 more minutes to go

I can see the mountains I can see the skies with 3 more minutes to go

And it’s to dern pretty for a man that don’t wanna die 2 more minutes to go

I can see the buzzards I can hear the crows 1 more minute to go

And now I’m swingin’ and here I go-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!

Now listen to it. Is it what you expected? Why do you think the singer chose this tune/rhythm?

I am attaching the extraordinary “shape poem” that Elena Ghersetti created (4F).

Another expression of creativity is the one by Valerio Zaina (4F).

The following powerpoint presentations were made by my students of 4H and 4F. They were asked to watch some films dealing with the issue of the Death Penalty and select/analyse pivotal scenes. The results are just jaw-dropping. I am amazed at the capabilities that some young students have. Kudos!

What follows is the powerpoint presentation created by Anna Giulia Nadin (she did a super job, she will shortly become my personal tutor in creating effective power point presentations!). Del Pup Elisa, Marini Sara, Mullahi Xheni and Anna Giulia analysed the film “The Life of David Gale”.

There are different reasons why we are against the Death Penalty. Some people are not persuaded by the inhumane treatment of the victimizers (= the ones found “guilty” of the crime): many people on the death row were found innocent; the average time convicts on a death row have to wait in the state of California is 30 years. Some of them die before their execution is enacted: they die of disease or they commit suicide. For some people the money factor is more persuasive a motivation to put an end to the Death Penalty. The expenses met for the killing of the convicts on the death row are massive. To our mind there are better ways of investing the money: PREVENTION. Preventing crimes, investing money in social programmes to help disadvantaged kids or people. This would still make people feel safe and protected by their government.

There she comes, a woman who’s white trying to get a confession out of spite, but I won’t fall.. Maybe.

She’s a damn nice person,

Ugh this makes no sense,

I feel it,she’s coming through.

Is it because she’s a nun?

Doubt it, she could be a bun

And make no difference to me;

But what I want to see is,

Can I trust her?

If I tell her the truth,

can she assure me Gods mercyness?

No one can. What I did was terrible

no one will ever forgive me.

I’m scared,terrified. But she’s here with me while I’m getting ready, all the guards are steady and they waiting to take my shit out the room. Soon they say. I feel redemption, I don’t wanna die as a liar, if so I should die due to fire.

None of this was never meant to be; I am one of God’s children and as so I’m gonna free my soul and fly wherever He wants me to go. Cos at the end, it ain’t no judge who puts me where I belong, but it’s God whom sits in the front row.

This is an interview to Sister Helen Prejean, American Advocate for the abolition of Death Penalty.

Here there are a few extracts from the interview, in my opinion the most powerful and the ones that are linked to the movie (Silvia Piol)

Since 1930, over 4.500 people have been executed in the United States. Sister Helen Prejean has been a witness to six of them.

Referring to the young convict Patrick Sonnier,1949-1987, this is what she says: “When I came out of execution chamber, when Patrick Sonnier had been electrocuted to death, I watched this man being killed in front of my eyes and I threw up. I’ve never seen a killing in front of my eyes, in such a cold, calculated, protocol death.” Something deep inside her, made her say: “Let me write the book Dead Man Walking”. About the purpose of writing the book, she states: ”I got to tell this story to the American people, because they never gonna get close to this”.

LEARN TO SAY “I’M SORRY”

LEARN TO FORGIVE

Loving your enemy does not mean condoning him, it means saving you from committing a crime. When you kill a person, you do not free society of a criminal, you create a new one: the person who kills loses himself.

Literature can play an important role in changing people’s conscience for the better, this is what Helen Prejean promoted in the State Penitentiary in Oregon.

‘Inside Looking Out’ tells the story of the national Inside-Out prison exchange program by focusing on the University of Oregon Honors College course taught at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Through the study of classic literature, outside students, learn to understand life inside a prison while inside students learn what it is like to be a student. It is a story of personal transformation through confronting and changing misconceptions people inside and out have about the meaning of education, and incarceration. What can be learned from another human being?

I am very proud to post the first video that four students of mine created. Girls, you did a superduper job! 🙂

I love the soundtrack you chose. I did not know this song by Tupac. This is what a person on the web wrote of the song:

Tupac began rapping about his own life after he was shot in Manhattan. Before that period, he rapped from the perspective of ghetto youth as a whole, and placed himself in the shoes of the people who faced the issues he rapped about. That said, 16 on Death Row (1992) is written from the perspective of a young cat faced with the realities of the inner city. The anger and passion in his songs are real, and that is how a lot of people in those situations feel. He was a mirror of this society, and was able to put it into words like no other.

“16 On Death Row”

Death Row
That’s where motherfuckers is endin up

Dear mama, I’m caught up in this sickness
I robbed my adversaries, but slipped and left a witness
Wonder if they’ll catch me, or will this nigga snitch
Should I shoot his bitch, or make the nigga rich?
Don’t wanna commit murder, but damn they got me trapped
Hawkin while I’m walkin, and talkin behind my back
I’m kind of schizophrenic, I’m in this shit to win it
Cause life’s a Wheel of, Fortune here’s my chance to spin it
Got no time for cops, who trip and try to catch me
Too fuckin trigger happy, to let them suckers snatch me
Niggaz gettin jealous (jealous) tryin to find my stash
Whip out the nine, now I’ma dive and pump your ass
Peter picked a pepper, but I can pick a punk
Snatched him like a bitch, and threw him in the trunk
The punk thought I was bluffin, but swear I’m nothin nice
Before I take your life, first wrestle with these, mics
I listen to him scream, Tray Deee went insane
I guess the little, mites had finally found his brain
New Rovers pull me over, I’m sentenced to the pen
Remember that little, bird, he snitched and told a, friend
It’s trouble on my mind, I’m with the old timers
And fuck five-oh, blaow blaow.. turn em into forty-niners

[Tupac sings]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can’t be positive, when the ghetto’s where you live
Bye bye, I was never meant to be
Livin like a thief, runnin through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go…
Where they find me? 16 on Death Row

Dear mama, these cops don’t understand me
I turned to a life of crime, cause I came from a broken family
My uncle used to touch me, I never told you that
Scared what you might do, I couldn’t hold you back
I kept it deep inside, I done let it fuel my anger
I’m down for all my homies, no mercy for a stranger
The brother in my cell, is 16 as well
It’s hard to adapt, when you’re black and you’re trapped in a livin Hell
I shouldn’ta let him catch me
Instead of livin sad in jail I coulda died free and happy
And my cellmate’s raped on the norm
And passed around the dorm, you can hear his asshole gettin torn
They made me an animal
Can’t sleep, instead of countin sheep, niggaz countin cannibals
And that’s how it is in the pen
Turn old and cold, and your soul is your best friend
My mama prayed for me
Tell the Lord to make way for me, prepare any day for me (why?)
Cause when they come for me they find a struggler
To the death I take the breath from your jugular
The trick is to never lose hope
I found my buddy hangin dead from a rope, 16 on Death Row

[Tupac sings]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can’t be positive, when the ghetto’s where you live
Bye bye, I was never meant to be
Livin like a thief, runnin through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go…
Where you find me? 16 on Death Row

Dear mama, they sentenced me to death
Today’s my final day, I’m countin every breath
I’m bitter cause I’m dyin, so much I haven’t seen
I know you never dreamed, your baby would be dead at 16
I got beef with a sick society that doesn’t give a shit
And they too quick to say goodbye to me
They tell me the preacher’s there for me
He’s a crook with a book, that motherfucker never cared for me
He’s only here to be sure
I don’t drop a dime to God bout the crimes he’s commitin
on the poor, and how can these people judge me?
They ain’t my peers and in all these years, they ain’t never love me
I never got to be a man, must be part of some big plan
to keep a nigga in the state pen
And to my homies out buryin motherfuckers
Steer clear of these Aryan motherfuckers
Cause once they got you locked up
They got you trapped, you’re better off gettin shot up
I’m convinced self-defense is the way
Please, stay strapped, pack a gat every day
I wish I woulda known while I was out there
Now I’m straight headin for the chair

[Tupac sings]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can’t be positive, when the ghetto’s where we live
Bye bye, I was never meant to be
Livin like a thief, runnin through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go…
Where you find me? 16 on Death Row

16 on Death Row
It’s to all my partners in the penitentiaries
16 on Death Row

This is the video shot in the basement of our school, really worth watching!

The video was introduced to the class by means of an interview. Then all the “actors” explained some parts of the video. The following notes will cast light upon certain aspects of the video that otherwise would not be fully appreciated.

INTERVIEW

Good morning to everybody. My name is Emanuele Li Calzi.

Today we have with us here four famous actors. Recently they acted in a film against the capital punishment. Today we are going to ask them some questions and then watch the film trailer.

So, let’s see.. first of all

– Why did you shoot the film?

We chose to shoot this video, because we wanted to raise people’s awareness to the way the prisoners are treated and the choice to put an end to their life.

We protect lives, we fight for human rights that are not granted in all countries and then, we do not give the opportunity to change life to someone who had once made a mistake.

Punishment should be a chance for prisoners to understand they made mistakes and to start a new life just like a new person, it should not be a fatal punishment, because it is an irreversible process. This is the main reason we shot this trailer.

– What was the hardest thing about shooting the video?

Oh, it was not hard shooting the video because we had so many ideas! However it was hard to find the right location because re-creating the atmosphere of a jail is not so easy. The other difficulty that we had was behaving like convicts.

– Is this the first time you have acted together?

Yes, it is the first time and I am really satisfied with our job.

This theme really involved us; we played our roles with such enthusiasm, that we did not feel tired after hours of work

Last but not least

– Do you believe that your film can be persuasive?

We do not want to censor anybody’s opinions. This is the reason why in the video there are two people against the Death Penalty and two who are in favour (the ones wearing a mask). We just wanted to have our own say and young people against capital punishment, so we hope our classmates appreciate what we worked hard to make.

Thank you very much to all of you. And now we are going to watch the movie trailer!

II SCENE.

I’m going to speak about the treatment reserved to prisoners. As we saw in the trailer, during the period of detention too many times the guards abuse their authority, physically and mentally against convicts. Inmates may be beaten for no reason and locked in tiny cells that are similar to cages. Victims do not have the right to speak. They are often forced to live in dark places, where the only companionship they have is themselves.

Moreover, the day of their execution may be postponed day after day. It is clear that, in this way any man on Earth, would lose his mind. For these reasons, I strongly believe that, in these circumstances a man is killed before he is actually executed.

SCENE SHOWING THE TRHEE CONVICTS PLAYING A GAME

This was a real game played in the 1960s. These people could be three potential criminals or a guilty person and two liars who decide the man’s faith without even talking to him. In fact in most cases others decide a man’s fate without taking into consideration his “truth”. When we see that one of the three has got a picture, symbolizing his death, the other two realize that he is guilty. The system has found someone to blame, no matter if he is really guilty or innocent, the system did its work.

V SCENE.

In the scene of the execution, we decided not to kill the executed. In fact he raises his eyes and stares directly at the camera. In our opinion this is symbolic of life as more powerful than death: nobody can decide to “stop” somebody’s life. Another important detail is presented in the fifth scene. After the execution a cheerful mask appears on the wall. This choice has two different interpretations. The first reading describes the desire to make the viewer experience what the executed has. The second one discloses the unfeeling people who watch the execution without telling anything. It seems that some people present at the execution may smile at that horrible spectacle. Where do they find courage to be so uncouth? Is it the joy of revenge that gives them the strength to witness a “murder”? We’d better ponder for a while.

Part showing the convict as a “dead man walking”. His last walk. We decided to film this scene in a corridor because it is dark and it is a narrow corridor, all these features convey to the spectator a feeling of anxiety, which is what the convict feels.

(last part)

I speak about the last part of the video. In this last part there are four people: a girl, a nun and two people with masks. This part represents the different opinion about death penalty. The girl and the nun shake their heads to say that they are against it. On the other hand the two people with masks are in favor of capital punishment. We decided to represent the people that are in favor of death penalty with masks because sometimes people are afraid of saying their opinion or what they think and they do not want to show their faces. So the mask is a metaphor for their fear of assuming their responsibility for their decision. The nun is the symbol of the Church, whereas the girl is a metaphor for all of that people that fight against death penalty.

101 risposte a The Death Penalty

I prefer the poem of silvia piol. It is very nice, well done. And when I read her poem I could image all the passage, the action of this person. And I can heard the thinks of this person! It is a good poem. 8

I will tell you something about the death penalty.
But I am sorry I cannot lie:
I want to tell it publicly that those animals must die.
I know that we are nobody to manage with a life
and the evildoer is a human being inside
but since he brutally killed a father or a mother or raped an innocent girl
he becomes a monster he is not a person anymore.
Is it true that there is no compassion to maniacs and to those who serially kill?
So why somewhere they are alive still? (I know that it is grammatically incorrect but I wrote it here to make the rhyme)
The people should see the pain that the family of the victim feels!
And it’ s time to make the monsters pay for all their sins!
In some countries the death penalty is a law and for this I’m glad
I just want to defend lives of helplesses and innocents it’s not about being mad.
It is a lesson for everybody: if you have not a conscience then you will be afraid by the fear of death!

Who gives you the right to decide my death?
You kill me in just one breath,
That’s why I’m telling you that
I will change things, you bet!
Is that democracy?
Is that instructive?
Do you really believe it?
Even when you kill, you descriminate
Why don’t you try to wait?
Do you remember what Ghandi says?
I’m telling it to the world wide:
“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind”

All poems are wonderful! I think the most effective is the poem of Elisa Pitton, I really loved it. The last part “I wish for a last moment of peace
in my heart and in my mind
as if I were in my mother’s arms
and nobody could hurt me.
Then a voice: “Your turn has come”, is powerfull, poetic and breathless!
Maybe because I’m against death penalty, but what Elisa wrote is beautiful!
Xheni Mullahi

I think that all poems are beautiful…but I really like Giada’ s poem. I found it so effective, strong and intence…there are no words to describe her poem!
Another poem that make me reflect a lot is the one written by Giulia G.
Her point of view is opposite of mine, but I can understand her reasons.
In my opinion Sara’s poem is really well made too.

“Very good indeed Mariniiiiiiii!!!” I really appreciated you poem, not only because your point of view is like mine, but even because it makes the reader think about the act the killer did. And in your poem the victim is absolutely right. He had the right to stay alive and become someone.
😉

If a person should die for every single mistake
The world would be a desert.
And if we should die for every single mistake
How could we make understand to the world that we want to fix it?
Who is the human being to judge
The intensity and severity of a fault?
The human being must not arrogate the right
Of killing another man.
It is just that a mistake

He was a man. He was killed.
He had a family, he had a job
and a life.
There was no blade, no bullet, no gun but
a chair.
Justice decided to kill him,
to punish a man for a crime
he did not commit.
“He looked so much like THE ONE”
they said.
He was not the only victim.

This must not happen. Taking
away the last breath and
heartbeat even of a single man,
guilty or innocent, is
not human.
It is like borrowing a killer’s
weapon to repeat the brutal deed.

I really appreciated the poem written by Arianna. Her poem makes reflect, to my mind it could be a special warning for people who are in favour of death penalty.
I also loved Giada’s poem because it is extremly powerful in the way she presents her argumentation against death penalty 🙂

All the students involved in the project gave their feedback. There is not a single student who claimed s/he had not been happy about the whole experience. The following quotation encapsulates the overall impressions the students had of this learning process:
“This project on the death penaly made me think a lot. I found out a lot about myself, things I did not know before. I learn new vocabulary and I was glad to see that we, as a class, were able to work together and cooperate to create something wonderful” (Sara Pavan)

“I really appreciated the fact that we dealt with “serious” contemporary issues and not only with the ordinary school syllabus. It is amazing that, we, young people, are asked to share our ideas. I liked working in a teac, beacuse for me it is extremely important to share ideas and accept my classmates’ opinions even when they are different from mine. But the thing I liked most was researching, looking for information about the issue, knowing new things and, since I am a film addict, watching films that depart from the blockbuster films we generally watch”. (Sara Marini)